The Shit to Know Thursdays

It’s mid-August, and the Ibiza final boss is already three tabs deep, shirt off, sunglasses on at 3am, screaming into a Funktion-One rig. Summer’s almost over, boys, and if you haven’t danced on a yacht, blacked out in a casino, or made at least one life-altering decision in a foreign country, what the fuck have you been doing?

But hey, we get it. You still need the bankroll to book the flight, pop bottles, and not stress about checking your debit card balance. That’s why you’ve got VHLA. We dig through the noise, front-run the bullshit, and give you the tips you need to live the life you actually want.

If this letter’s made you money or given you the ammo to make smarter plays, do us a solid and share it with your crew.

Minerals
RARE EARTHS GET $1B BOOST

One of the most overlooked themes in this AI-driven market is the US rare earths trade, and yesterday just lit a fire under it.

The Trump admin is proposing nearly $1B in funding to accelerate domestic production of critical minerals, according to the Energy Department.

That means EVs, chips, defense: all the high-leverage supply chains just got another tailwind. Bullish as fuck for our Rare Earth basket: $MP, $USAR, and $CRML. If you’ve been waiting to size up, this is your cue.

Geopolitics
FROM RUSSIA WITH THE LOVE BONE

Trump says he’s “going to Russia” to meet Vlad. Turns out he meant old Russia—Alaska.

Yeah, we know it was bought in 1867, but the memes write themselves.

Real story? If Trump pulls a peace deal rabbit out of his ass and ends the Ukraine war, this market hits nitro. Oil drops, risk explodes, and every retail gambler with a Robinhood account gets their wings back.

Macro
SMALL-CAPS DAY IN THE SUN?

The jobs data’s gone limp, inflation’s losing its bite, and now the market’s betting 80% odds Powell cuts in September. That’s your signal—rotation season is here. The mega caps already ran.

Now the cash starts trickling down to the small cap gutter where real degenerates make their money. $IWM has been dead money since 2022, but this could be the breakout from the coffin.

This is the kind of setup where nobodies turn into legends overnight. Fast moves, big rips, and zero CNBC coverage. Just how we like it.

Chips
CHINA CRACKS DOWN ON NVDA

NVDA’s got a China headache brewing. Regulators just pulled Baidu, ByteDance, and Tencent in for a little chat about the H20 chips, citing “information risks.”

Translation: they’re not thrilled about what’s under the hood, and if this escalates, it could dampen NVDA’s sales in one of its key markets. Nothing’s broken yet, but it’s a thread worth watching.

NVDA’s still nearly 8% of the S&P 500, so if it starts slipping, the rest of the market could feel it. Not time to panic—but maybe time to tighten up your tech exposure and be ready if this thing turns into something real.